Find More Tips on Saving for College in the Parent Handbook
Parents of sixth-through 12th grade students use ISL Education Lending’s Parent Handbook to prepare their students for success after high school, whether for college or to pursue other postsecondary options.
Why It Matters
- Find more tips.
Take the time to explore the Parent Handbook for tips on academic success, exploring careers and education, selecting and applying to programs, and paying for college or other education. - Create or evaluate your savings plan.
This is a good opportunity to review your overall savings plan for your student’s educational goals. A 529 account is one method of saving, and opening or contributing to one now provides an opportunity for your investment to grow before it’s time to pay for college.
How a 529 Savings Account Boosts Your Savings
- This chart shows how creating an account with a $1,000 deposit and investing an additional $100 each month afterward grows at a 6.00% interest rate. (Estimated interest only; past performance of any investment choice does not indicate future returns.) The sooner you start, the more months your investment can grow before you need to pay educational costs.
What Else You Can Do
- Learn more about 529 college savings plans.
ISave 529, formerly College Savings Iowa, is the state-sponsored 529 plan for Iowa residents that lets you save for education expenses and provides certain tax benefits. Visit www.ISave529.com to learn more about how 529 plans work and how to get started. Don’t live in Iowa? You can open a 529 plan from any state. Check here for a list of states with 529 plans. - Understand education costs.
Depending on your student’s possible goals, several educational options may still be on the table at this point, but it’s not too early to start exploring the costs of those options and making a financial plan.
Next Steps
Be sure to complete the survey questions at the end of this article to be entered into the 529 deposit giveaway!
Additional references, handouts and talking points are available in the right sidebar to use at your leisure. They may prove beneficial to reference now or after receiving future emails – we’ll leave it completely up to you. Use our emails like a recipe for a successful outcome — assemble the recommended ingredients and then follow accompanying directions to add flavor and depth.